Israel’s foreign affairs ministry (MFA) has created a regional diplomatic storm after it published a biblical map that many in the Arab world view as “expansionist” and a direct threat to their sovereignty.
The map, uploaded by the ministry’s Arabic language X/Twitter account, showed the biblical boundaries of the kingdoms of Israel and Judea, which extended, according to the scriptures, into areas east of the Jordan River.
“Did you know that the Kingdom of Israel was established 3000 years ago?” reads the first sentence of the post.
The post then proceeded to portray the Biblical accounts of kings Saul, David, and Solomon, as well as the partition of the kingdom to the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judea, and their respective destruction and exile by the Assyrian and Babylonian empires.
The post concluded: “However, the Jewish people in the Diaspora continued to look forward to the revival of their powers and capabilities and the rebuilding of their state, which was declared in the State of Israel in 1948 to become the only democracy in the Middle East.”
هل تعلم ان مملكة إسرائيل كانت قائمة منذ 3000 سنة؟ أول ملك حكمها لمدة 40 عاما كان الملك شاؤول (1050--1010) ق. م. ثم تلاه الملك داود الذي حكمها 40 عاما تقريبا (1010-970 ) ق.م. وعقبه الملك سليمان الذي حكم ايضا لمدة 40 عاما في الفترة (970-931) ق.م. دام حكم الملوك الثلاثة… pic.twitter.com/xK7jjORdOK
— إسرائيل بالعربية (@IsraelArabic) January 6, 2025
Fabricating history
However, not everyone saw this as a simple history or cultural lesson. The map was featured in outlets across the Middle East, including Saudi channel Al-Arabiya, Qatari outlet Al Jazeera, and others, with most channels overlooking the map’s educational purpose and connecting it to alleged Israeli plans and schemes.
Such was the case with the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, which starkly condemned the publications made by the Israeli MFA.
“The ministry condemns in the strongest terms the maps of the region published by official Israeli accounts on social media platforms, claiming that they are historical for Israel, including parts of the occupied Palestinian territories, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria,” read the public statement.
It added that the publication comes “in conjunction with racist statements by the extremist Israeli Finance Minister calling for the annexation of the West Bank and the establishment of settlements in the Gaza Strip.”
The official spokesman for the ministry, Sufian Qudah, stressed the Kingdom’s “absolute rejection of these policies and provocative statements that aim to deny the Palestinians’ right to establish their independent and sovereign state.”
Qudah also stressed that these “allegations and delusions adopted and promoted by extremists in the Israeli government… encourage the continuation of cycles of violence and conflict, [which] constitute a blatant violation of international norms and laws.”
He also called on the Israeli government to “immediately stop these provocative actions and to stop the provocative statements made by Israeli officials, which have no place except in the minds of extremists and which contribute to fueling conflicts and constitute a threat to international peace and security.”
Likewise, the Jordanian speaker of Parliament, Ahmad al-Safadi, asserted that the maps “express a criminal mentality and malicious ambitions that cannot be ignored or tolerated.”
Palestinian commenters didn’t remain silent either, with the Palestinian Authority rejecting what it named “alleged maps of historical Israel that include Arab lands.”
In a formal statement, PA spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh denounced the “alleged map with a comment fabricating an Israeli history dating back thousands of years in line with the Hebrew allegations.” He added that “this behavior constitutes a flagrant violation of all international legitimacy resolutions and international law,” claiming that “these extremist Israeli policies are what ignited the region and led to the wars we are currently witnessing.”
Likewise, Palestinian writer Yaseen Izeddeen claimed on his X account that the publication of the maps “is not the first time and it will not be the last, but it is part of their beliefs that drive the occupation government.”
Izeddeen also contended that “the current rulers of Israel declare that Jordan is part of the Land of Israel, and these are old positions that go back more than a hundred years.”
He continued his critique, saying, “Jordan is among their aspirations, but they leave it for the next stage,” adding that Jordan’s rulers have “no choice but to listen and obey their masters in Tel Aviv and Washington.”
Despite this, not all voices were conspiratorial or rejecting. Loay al-Shareef, a peace activist from the Gulf, commented on the original post: “Sound words that are consistent with history, the Quran, the Bible, and archaeology.
It is worth noting that millions of Muslims bear the name of the Israelite king and prophet David, son of Yishai, whose historical kingdom’s denial poses a dilemma in the Islamic faith for those who are fanatical about the Palestinian cause.”
The Jerusalem Post contacted Israel’s MFA for a comment but had not received a response by press time.